2016 Virginia Forum Call for Papers

The 2016 Virginia Forum will be hosted by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and held at the Jamestown Settlement in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Virginia Forum brings together historians, teachers, writers, archivists, museum curators, historic site interpreters, librarians, and others engaged in the study and interpretation of Virginia history to share their knowledge, research, and experiences.

The Virginia Forum is interdisciplinary and welcomes proposals on all aspects of Virginia history and culture from scholars, teachers, students, and professionals in all fields. This year’s theme, “Convergences and Disjunctures” reflects the mission of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation to study and teach Virginia history through the convergence of American Indian, European, and African cultures and the legacies of those interactions in the development of the nation.

Virginia is a place of many convergences: the waterways that brought the first European settlers to Jamestown in 1607, the cultures that met there, and the convergence of Washington’s troops at Yorktown in 1781. Virginia history has also demonstrated disjunctures: the conflicts between Europeans and American Indians, the importation of Africans to Virginia, the separation from Great Britain in 1776, the cession of vast western land to the Federal Government in 1783, and the creation of West Virginia during the Civil War. These convergences and divergences have continued up until the present day with the various civil rights struggles taking root and shape here in the Old Dominion.

Our theme is meant to inspire proposals, but it is not exclusive. Proposals on all topics related to the history and culture of Virginia are welcome, as are proposals for creative presentation formats such as poster sessions, roundtables, workshops, demonstrations, etc.

Proposals are invited on topics such as:

The history of the Chesapeake Bay

Recognition of Virginia Indians

African American experiences in Virginia

Revolution, Secession, Reconstruction

Virginia and the World Wars

Teaching and interpreting Virginia history at museums and historical sites

Beginnings, endings, and anniversaries

We plan to offer sessions and workshops that draw from the full range of Virginia-focused research, including the humanities and sciences. We invite proposals about any aspect of Virginia life, society, history, and culture and from a variety of fields, including: economics, politics, geography, law, literature, history, politics, archaeology and anthropology, environmental studies, museum and library studies, preservation, and others.

Individual Papers:
Please submit a one-page paper proposal and one-page curriculum vitae in a single Word/pdf document to VAForum@jyf.virginia.gov by 30 September 2015. Please be sure to include your email address and other contact information.

Panels:
Proposals for complete panel sessions, workshops, or any other presentation formats are encouraged. Submissions should include: 1) a one-page description of the overall session; 2) a separate, one-page description for each individual presentation in the session; and 3) a one-page curriculum vitae for each panel member, including the chairperson. Please include all of the above in a single Word/pdf document submitted to VAForum@jyf.virginia.gov by 30 September 2015. Please be sure to include your email address and other contact information.

Chairs:
If you are interested in chairing a session, please indicate your area(s) of interest and submit a one-page curriculum vitae in a single Word/pdf document to VAForum@jyf.virginia.gov by 30 September 2015. Please be sure to include your email address and other contact information.

Additional information, including previous conference programs, is available online at www.virginiaforum.org.